2013 Hyundai Santa Fe

Comments

I want to buy a 2013 Santa Fe Sport. I currently own a 2005 Tucson and tow a pop up camper (max weight 2000 lbs, max hitch weight 185 lbs). The car has 110,000 miles on it and I never replaced the struts. When I first owned the car I barely used the camper but now am using it a lot. I notice that at highway speeds of 55 mph or greater on certain stretches of road (mostly the newer cement roads versus blacktop) the car and camper start bouncing vehemently to the point I have to slow down to 45 mph to control it. Not good. I am told by my dealer that replacing the struts won't necessarily fix the problem, the wheel base might be too short for towing. He recommended I buy the 2013 Santa Fe Sport. But that car is less than 3 inches longer in wheel base. So I am nervous. My question is does anyone have any experience with towing on the 2013 Santa Fe Sport and would they recommend it for my situation? If they do, should I get the turbo or not? Anything else I should consider getting on the car?

Take a look at the 2013 Nissan Pathfinder. It's rated at 5000lbs towing capacity and is a much quieter and upscale ride. For all those who trash talk the CVT, go and drive it and see for yourself. It's basically an Infiniti JX35 with Nissan badging.

I made it back for a second response. My 2013 Santa Fe now has just over 3000 miles and I have not taken it back to the Dealer because I expect the vehicle is meant to drive this way. I will take it by within the next 2 weeks however to see. It drives great at less than 45 MPH and turns on a dime in a parking lot. On the Interstate .... it sucks! I have to concentrate too much to drive this vehicle. Move the steering while an eighth inch and you switch over 3 lanes (maybe 1/4 in.). I'm in the top .1 % (point 1 percent) of drivers nationally and I'd rather drive my cousin's F-450 dually with his 54' race trailer on back (I've done it several times before) at 75 MPH on the Interstate, than drive this Santa Fe on the Interstate. I have to concentrate way less driving the race package than my Santa Fe! No bull! The max. tire pressure of the Continental tires is 50 PSI and all tires have 44 PSI of Nitrogen (stays the same PSI when the tires get hot, as used in racing and as they came from the dealer). The heated seat were fixed....if there is nothing wrong with the steering, I'll just lose $10K or so in a trade.....this vehicle sucks over 50 MPH. I'm a relaxed long distance driver who can easily drive 750 miles in a day at 55 years of age but not on this vehicle.....not comfortably anyway. I've driven everything and raced and I'd prefer a big steering wheel 1950's vehicle with tons of play in the steering and no power steering, to this! It's a mental grind on the Interstate. I'll take it to the dealer within the next 2 weeks and I hope there is a steering box malfunction because I like most everything else (there won't be). If you are thinking about buying one......insist on 10 miles of driving on the Interstate before you buy!!!!!!

After reading others complain of this same issue over on the Hyundai forums I went for a long test drive as I had been thinking of buying the SF. Yes, the SF I drove had the steering issue as well. I opted for the 2013 Nissan Pathfinder and am very happy with it's highway prowess. I agree, anyone thinking of purchasing the SF needs to take it out for a long test drive at highway speeds BEFORE buying. As I just got rid of a lemon from another make, I too would definitely recommend an overnight or weekend test drive before making a any new vehicle purchase.

As others have said, your tires are way overinflated. 44psi is WAY to much. That is exactly what is contributing to the floaty feeling on the freeway. Use the recommended pressure thats written on the car!

You've said multiple times you are in the top .1% of drivers, but its amazing to me that you don't know anything about tire pressure and its relationship with steering response!

I'm at 2500 miles. Getting tons of compliments. Most like the dash/electronics and luxury look (wheels are popular). I'm actually using the full moonroof (never used mine on the others).There's some rattle in the roof, probably need to get it checked.

Driving is a little soft in comparison to my other cars. All in all - very nice, fun to drive. Decent power.Can't get tow package yet (waiting on those to be built/delivered).I have seen exactly 2 others on the road in Dallas - hard to believe they aren't delivering more.

Looks like about every small SUV today. The kids like the captains seats - not sure I do (something about the look of them). The electronics are pretty cool - radio toggles between HD and non HD at times (painful), voice commands are horrible (as in my Genesis as well) - that will probably just take some practice). Voice seems hard to pick up for commands, but for phone calls it seems to be fine.

Vinyl boot for shifter is a turnoff - would rather have a smooth guide like the Genesis. I see a lot of people looking at my vehicle and those that see the interior really like it.

I have the 2011 Santa Fe Limited fully loaded with a little over 28,000 miles. My only complaint about the car is the wind noise on the passenger side which service told me is normal and I told them that's BS. Anyway, I was hoping the 2013 would have the power folding mirrors and some of the other features that the Kia Sorrent has but it didn't, Now I see a re-designed 2014 SF that looks fantastic, if it has the features I want and no wind noise, I'll tade my 2011 in because I love the car. The ride could be a little softer though and I have to agree about the voice system it stinks.

If anybody knows any tech features about the 2014 I'd appreciate the info. I've seen pictures of it and it's beautiful.

I don't remember what it is, but you might check with the service manager (?) regarding this sensitivity in the steering. I think they have 3 settings for the steering, you should try the one I think called sport. This type of problem is in the sedans, ie Sonata look in that forum for more info than I remember. It is something about the electrical steering stuff. I hope that will address your problem.

I just purchased A Santa Fe Sport last week and one of the first things I did was check the PSI in all of the tires and sure enough they were all overinflated by about 5 lbs, the correct PSI is 33 lbs per tire. I also found that at highway speed if you put the steering into the sport mode it should solve the problem of drifting out of your lane at highway speeds, I had it up to 80MPH and no drifting, I actually prefer the sport mode and leave it in this position all the time.

I have the wandering steering problem also on my 2013 Santa Fe Sport 2.4 FWD. The dealer has had it four times now. First for alignment, which was changed. Second visit found right front camber out of spec again, installed right side camber kit. Third visit, verified drift to left, cross rotated and road force balanced all four tires. Vehicle still drifts to left, 4th visit they replaced all four tires with Continental brand and road force balanced. Still have the same problem. Now I'm on hold with them awaiting a software update the service manager is telling me, with no estimate of how long this will take. I'm thinking of filing the Lemon Law reporting paper work. :lemon:

I have a 2013 Santa Fe since 10/13/12. It has 10,140 miles on it and we have enjoyed every minute that we have spent in this car. I noticed the steering was hard to get use to but when I went to the normal mode the car drove like my 2011 Sonata that I put 36,000 mile on. This past Feb. while returning from a trip to SW La. (700 mi.) I drove the whole 14 hours and felt like I could have driven longer. I am 77 and while I try to stay in good shape I still need to get out once in a while. I did notice that the ride felt hard and sure enough the TP was 40 PSI so I put it at the 33 PSI that Hyundai says the tire should be at. The ride is a lot softer and not truck like. I have the white color with the tan leather interior and the car is jut beautiful. We have had a lot of compliments and interest in our car.

I have the same problem with what seems like a line running across the windshield while driving on dark roads. It does diminish greatly when you switch to high beams. I told my salesman about it and he said to bring it in some night and he would check it out. I haven't done that yet. Have you found out anything about this situation?

On top of this, we opted for the $2,900 Technology package. This option adds a panoramic sunroof, a 12-speaker Infinity stereo with HD radio, heated steering wheel, rear side window shades and a navigation system with 8-inch touchscreen."

I just drove from Northern VA to Atlanta and back in my new SF AWD Limited. Approximately 650 miles each way. I did not have the wandering/sensitive steering that you and others have reported. I actually found the drive to be quite enjoyable.

While you are not the only person to report steering issues, the majority of owners have not had that problem. Leads me to believe that it an isolated issue, and not a defect across the entire line. Also, as others have mentioned, your tires were significantly over inflated, which would exactly cause the symptoms you've described. Also, for what it's worth, hyping your own credibility actually has the opposite effect. The fact that you feel the need to proclaim that you are in the top .1% of drivers (what does that even mean?) actually takes away from your credibility.

I have seen them at Sansone Hyundai in New Jersey and I did not see any changes from the 2013 model, if any changes were made to the interior or exterior they were very slight. I own a 2013 Sport and I really love this CUV.

I am about to trade mine in...nice car but the wind noise from both front windows it not acceptable to me for a new car!! Also the fog lamps are defective one has a cover falling off and one is off and bouncing around the lamp...hyundai seemed to know exactly what I am talking about but no recalls...I rented a ford mustang for two weeks and even this sports car, less expensive than my car...had a seal on the windows without wind noise. Any others have these issues? My mind is pretty made up though that I am getting rid of it at only 1 yr old.

If you are a parent of young children (at least one under 12 years old) who owns a 2013-14 Hyundai Santa Fe, a reporter would like for you to fill out a survey, due by December 13, 2013, for use in a print publication. Please email PR@edmunds.com no later than Wednesday, December 11, for a copy of the survey.